Making Thin Mint Ricotta CheesecakeCrystal Valcourt,pastry chef at Onyx Fusion Restaurant, shows how to make Thin Mint Ricotta Chocolate Cheesecake, which she will have at the up coming Fork It Over event

What could be better than a Girl Scouts’ Thin Mint cookie? Samoas and Thin Mint ice cream, perhaps?

Well, area chefs will be ratcheting up the possibilities when they test their creativity in a “Fork It Over” Girl Scout cookie culinary contest on June 22 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Pazzo Ristorante in Springfield.

The chefs are tasked with creating a dish — either an appetizer or dessert — in which a Girl Scout cookie is used in the recipe and the public is invited to sample.

The money raised through the event, which includes a silent auction and live entertainment by area jazz singer Ethel, goes toward programs offered for girls in kindergarten through grade 12 by the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts.

“They’ve had good success with it in other areas in the council, and we’re very excited to have it here in Springfield.”

Chefs have been asked to create a display portion of their creation and 250 to 300 bite-size portions for guests to taste.

Bacon said her organization had been organizing a golf tournament fund-raiser for several years, but decided to try something different this year, and area chefs have responded.

“They have to use at least one variety of cookie in their creation,” Bacon said.

“It can be an appetizer or a dessert, or both.”

The dishes will be evaluated on several criteria by a panel of judges, who will select the top offerings in each category.

Attendees will also have the chance to vote on a “People’s Choice” favorite.

Appetizers and desserts will be judged separately by a panel of judges headed by Michael G. Corduff, executive chef and co-owner of the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting house and The Delaney House in Holyoke.

Other judges include Joanna Martin, licensed dietitian and certified diabetic educator with Nancy Dell and Associates; Paul Romaniak of the Performance Food Group; Carlos Gonzalez , president of the Latino Chamber of Commerce; Mary Paz, executive director of the Children’s Museum at Holyoke and museum board member Eileen Leahy.

The chefs are providing the Girl Scouts with the recipe of their creation in advance because attendees will receive a book with each recipe, plus pictures of the chefs.

Sponsors of the event include The Republican.

Bacon said this kind of fund-raiser benefits both the Girl Scouts and local participating restaurants.

“The Girl Scout cookie program is the leading business in economic literacy for girls in America,” she said. “It’s a win-win for everybody. They get exposure for their restaurants, while supporting Girl Scouts.”

Joshua B. Streeter, a chef for Aramark Dining Services at Bay Path College in Longmeadow, said he’s looking forward to the contest.

Republican photo by DON TREEGERJoshua Streeter's Crispy Pork Belly with Braised Pineapple and Trefoil Crumble
“I thought it would be something fun to do and just kind of play around with food,” Streeter said.
Streeter, who is planning to make crispy pork belly with braised pineapple and Trefoil cookie crumble, said there is always some apprehension when there are strict guidelines he must follow with his dishes.
“No matter how creative you want to be, you have to have some kind of constraints because you want to make people happy,” he said.

“You have to have your food or product a little more focused – that’s how I felt about using the cookies.”

Before coming up with his recipe, Streeter said he sat down and tried each Girl Scout cookie and compared their flavors and textures.

“I sat down and tasted each cookie and just let the flavor and texture lead me in the direction I wanted to go in,” he said.

“The thing I wanted to avoid with the cookies was, I wanted to make sure the cookies weren’t too altered. I didn’t want the cookies to be lost in the dish.”

Michael F. Presnal, chef and owner of The Federal in Agawam, is planning two dishes — squash ravioli with Trefoil crumbs and strawberry-rhubarb crisp.

“A lot of times in a savory recipe, you use sugar or honey to sweeten it up, so instead of doing that, we’re going to use the cookie as the sweetener,” Presnal said of his ravioli dish.

Presnal said he’s eager to see what the contestants come up with.

Some of the chef creations will include minted lamb “lollipops,” Scouts summer salad, golden pepper soup with lemon crouton and lemon basil crème, Thank U Berry Munch chicken and shrimp with cran-orange sauce and the all out, Girl Scout parfait.

Preheat an oven to 175 to 180 degrees (or just below 200 degrees -trust me it will work on any home oven).

Rub the pork belly on all sides with the salt and grind a little black pepper over each side as well.

Take a large sheet of plastic wrap and lay the pork belly on top.

Slightly crush the pink peppercorns with a cup or a sauté pan and press them evenly onto the pork belly on both the top and bottom.

Place 4 sprigs of thyme on the bottom of the belly and 4 on the top.

Wrap the pork belly tightly with the plastic and wrap a second or third time to try to seal the package trying to push out any trapped air.

Now wrap in aluminum foil and make sure the seam is facing upwards with the skin side down.

Place the package seam side up on a cookie sheet in your preheated oven.

Place another cookie sheet or a heavy pan of some sort on top of the package to keep the pork belly flat. Leave in the oven for 8-10 hours.

When the pork belly is done, take out of the oven and refrigerate until it is firm and the fat is coagulated.

When it the pork belly is cold, get a non-stick sauté pan hot on medium-low heat.

Unwrap the pork belly and pull off the thyme stems but leave on the peppercorns and any leaves left behind.

Scrape some of the cold pork fat off of the pork belly and drop into the sauté pan to coat the pan.

Place the pork belly into the pan and sear on the low to medium heat also placing a heavy sauté pan on top of the pork to make sure the skin stays flat to the pan.

Continue to cook this way until it becomes golden brown and crispy and the fat has rendered out of the skin.

This will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours so don’t rush this or the skin will burn.

You will need a spatula to take the pork out of the pan as it may stick to the pan.

When the pork is crispy, you may need to gently chip at the bottom of the pork to release it from the pan, be careful because the pork will be very tender and could fall apart if you are too rough with it.

When the pork is out of the pan place it onto a plate and put it into the refrigerator or the freezer and chill until it is completely cold and firm again.

At this point if you are ready to cut the belly, place it skin side down on a cutting board and slice through the meat until you get to the skin and tap the knife through the skin quickly to cut through evenly.

The pork belly can be cut into any shape or size necessary at this point.

Coconut braised pineapple

1 whole, ripe pineapple topped and peeled

3 1/2 cups pineapple juice(canned is fine)

2 cups coconut milk (or one 14 ounce can)

1 vanilla bean

1 Roasting pan or deep baking pan of any sort

Aluminum foil

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees (350 degrees in you have a convection).

Cut the peeled pineapple in half and (using a sharp paring knife) cut the core out of each half being careful to keep the pineapple halves whole.

In the roasting pan, pour in the pineapple juice, the coconut milk. Split and scrape the vanilla bean and place the bean and seed pulp and add to the pan as well stirring a bit to distribute the vanilla seeds.

Place the pineapple halves into the pan cut side down and cover the pan with the foil making sure to tighten the foil around all of the edges.

Place the pan on top of a stove burner and heat on medium high to high heat until the pan begins to release steam from the foil and then place into the preheated oven.

Let the pineapple cook for 15 to 20 minutes then remove the foil and return the pan to the oven for another 45 minutes.

By this point the liquid should be simmering in the oven and possibly coloring along with the exposed part of the pineapple.

When the exposed part of the pineapple begins to color to a dark golden color, use a large spoon or spatula to flip the pineapple over exposing the cut side and submerging the top of the pineapple.

Continue to roast the pineapple until it colors again to a dark golden color.

Check the pineapple about every half hour until the braising liquid is reduced and thick, but not burnt!

When the pineapples are done, remove from the pan and place on a plate and allow to cool.

Take the braising liquid and strain into a container but keep the vanilla bean in the liquid.

At this point the pineapple can be into any shape you want.

Assembly per serving:

One, 1/4 inch slice of crispy pork belly

One, 1/4 inch slice braised pineapple (and braising liquid)

1 teaspoon crushed Girl Scout Trefoil cookies

Pink peppercorns

Fresh thyme

Slice the cold pork belly into 1/4- to 1/3-inches slices (skin side down) and cut the slices into thirds.

Get a small sauté pan hot over a medium heat and slowly sear each slice on both sides just until golden colored then set aside.

Take the braised pineapple and cut into thirds then slice about 1/4 inch thick.

They should look like small wedges. If the braising liquid is cold, warm it up in a sauce pan and if needed emulsify in a blender as it may separate.

Using an Asian style spoon or other small flat dish, drizzle about 1 teaspoons of braising liquid in the bottom to the dish and lay the pork belly on top of the sauce.

Place the pineapple on top of the pork and drizzle another teaspoon of the sauce over everything.

Take the Trefoil cookie crumbles and place them in a tight pile on top of the pineapple.

Now pick the top of a thyme sprig and place it standing up in the cookie crumble to garnish.

Rub the pink peppercorns to remove the bright pink skins and sprinkle the skins over the amuse, and serve.

Spread mixture into a deep dish pie plate; scatter crumbs over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until filling is bubbling and golden.

Let sit 20 minutes before serving.

IF YOU GO:

EVENT: Girl Scouts’ “Fork It Over” culinary contest

WHEN: June 22, 5:30 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Pazzo Ristorante, 1000 West Columbus Ave., Springfield

TICKETS:$25 each or five for $100.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.gscwm.org or by calling 800-462-9100, ext. 3623

Republican photo by DON TREEGERStaff photo by Don Treeger- Baypath College chef Joshua Streeter will be participating in the Girl Scouts "Fork it Over" fund-raising event with his Crispy Pork Belly with Braised Pineapple and Trefoil Crumble.